The James River received a B on its latest State of the James health and restoration report, and while vast improvements have been made, advocates say there is more work to be done. The river received a score of 68%, a slight improvement from the 66% recorded in the 2023 report. Similar to a report card, the State of the James is an assessment of the ongoing efforts to restore the environmental quality of the river. The report comes out every two years and takes into account a variety of factors, including the success of underwater species, habitat features and water quality.

For 2025’s report, the James River Association noted that the river has had significant improvement in areas of the Upper James from clean water programs, which reduce waste from storm water and agriculture sources

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